Game Update 0.14
The Game Update 0.14 has been playable non-stop since 27 January 2012, 11am ET (4pm GMT) to 31 January 2012, 10am ET (3pm GMT). In order to test out the new mechanics and features properly in this phase of Beta all Experience, Gold, Levels, and Masteries on each account have been wiped. Gameplay Expanded Hero Progression Hero Masteries were introduced in the previous Beta ''and are now being expanded in this ''Beta! A recap of how Masteries work follows: * Leveling up will allow accounts to gain Mastery Points which may be spent to customize Heroes via their Mastery Tree. * To view the new Mastery Trees for an individual Hero, go to the Profile ''tab in the ''Lobby ''and choose the Hero you wish to view. From there, choose the Masteries tab to view the available choice in that Hero's ''Tree. * Items available to buy in the Mastery Trees include the following: **''Perks ''- These items reward players for achieving set requirements within a match. When that requirement is met, the player is granted a bonus for a limited time that rewards them for their effort! **''Tactics ''- Change how your Hero plays by slotting the appropriate Tactic! Some will be passive tweaks to the Hero while others give a chance for effect based on triggers in combat. Pick the ones that match your play style. **''Alternate Abilities'' - Improve or change out your Hero's core abilities with these beauties. Designed to complement your existing abilities or flat out replace them, you can pick how your Hero plays! *Some items purchased with Mastery Points in a Hero Tree ''are specific to that Hero while others can be used on any Hero! *As soon as you unlock a Mastery, it is immediately added to your Inventory screen which is shared by all Heroes. From there it can be slotted on any eligible Hero. For example, you can unlock ''Cripple ''from Bax's ''Mastery Tree, which is a Tactic ''usable by anyone. ''Cripple ''may them be slotted on any Hero you like - not just Bax! However, if you unlock Bax's unique ''An' Stay Down! Mastery, it is only usable by Bax himself. *To slot a Mastery, click on the Mastery you want to slot and then choose the Equip button on the bottom to put it in one of the three available slots for the Hero you are currently viewing. *Every Hero has 3 slots available to them that will each hold one eligible Mastery from your inventory. Any given Mastery may only be slotted by one Hero at a time. However, you may find or unlock multiple copies of a Mastery, which will then allow you to slot each copy on a different Hero. *When a Mastery is slotted, the icon for that Mastery will grey out if that was your only copy. If you had multiple copies, it will decrement the counter for that Mastery. *Masteries that are ineligible for a particular Hero or are currently slotted elsewhere will be represented in grey. *To unequip a mastery, click on the slot you wish to change and then choose unequip at the bottom of the screen. This will return the Mastery to your inventory as available to use and change the icon color or increment its counter as appropriate. *To assist in Beta ''testing, experience rewards for all Scenarios have been drastically increased. Please note that these experience rates are strictly for ''Beta, and are not representative of actual progression times post-launch. *Note that Masteries can only be unlocked on Heroes that are currently 'Owned' by a player. See the Store section for details on how to purchase or Own ''a Hero. As well, any items unlocked via a ''Mastery Tree on an Owned Hero can only be used on Owned Heroes. This means that if the Mastery can be used by multiple Heroes, you still must Own ''the Hero you want to use it on before it can be ''Slotted. Hero Status Accompanying the introduction of the Store we've changed how our Heroes and associated Skins are accessed. Heroes will now be considered Free, Purchasable, or Owned. The distinction between these types is as follows: *''Free:'' Heroes being considered Free ''means they are currently available to all players during this ''Beta session. These Heroes can be used at any time while they are marked as Free. However, these Heroes are not Owned ''by the player and as such players cannot advance these Heroes within their ''Mastery Trees. Free Heroes can be purchased from the Store, making it an Owned Hero and allowing access to their advancements. *''Purchasable:'' All Heroes that are not Owned ''by a player can be purchased from the Store; this includes all ''Free Heroes. The Store currently allows Heroes and Skins ''to be purchased using earned currency (Gold). Once a Hero is purchased, that Hero becomes ''Owned. *''Owned:'' Heroes that have been purchased from the Store are considered 'Owned'. This means the Hero is now available to the player at all times, regardless of whether that Hero is currently Free ''in the lineup. It also means that the player can now purchase Mastery unlocks for that Hero from their ''Mastery Tree. Hero Synergies Want to have a swarm of Skaven? Perhaps a gross of Greenskins? With this Beta, we are introducing the concept of Hero Synergy. This system gives each Hero a specific passive bonus based on either the composition of their team or the target of their wrath. For example, Bax's Synergy ''bonus is additional health based on the number of ''Greenskins ''in his party. Alternatively, Felicia's ''Hero Synergy gives her a damage bonus against Chaos. Keep these Synergies ''in mind when you coordinate with your team or see what the enemies bring to the battle! Perks *''Perks ''are a new form of Mastery that can be purchased within a Hero's ''Mastery Tree. *''Perks all require that players meet a certain requirement to enable their use in a match. *Once the requirements are met, the ''Perk ''will light up in the bottom right and become active. Players can then use the perk at their leisure. Note however that you will not gain any additional credit towards another use of the ''Perk ''until you use the current activation. *''Perks ''can be used on any Hero as long as the Hero you are trying to equip is ''Owned. Heroes Free Heroes Rotation The following Heroes are considered free and available to all players during this Beta ''session: * Conrad the Warrior Priest * Felicia the Bright Wizard * Ikkrik the Gutter Runner * Korith the Shadow Warrior * Thagison the Slayer Available Heroes The following Heroes are available for purchase with earned currency on the Store during this ''Beta ''session: * Aessa the White Lion * Amenadresh the Liche Priest * Bax the Black Orc * Durrig the Engineer * Glowgob the Shaman * Gromki the Runepriest * Ilanya the Sorceress * Korelei the Witch Elf * Nethys the Vampiress * Volrik the Marauder * Zathis the Assassin Removed Heroes The following Heroes have been removed from this ''Beta ''session: * Albodi the Chosen * Kaelin the Dryad * Rockgut the Troll * Tobias the Knight of the Blazing Sun The removed Heroes were based on feedback and metrics from previous Beta sessions. 'General' * Fixed a bug where Heroes with immunity to being pulled (i.e. Thagison) weren't properly having this immunity applied. 'Aessa' * This Hero's ''Mastery Tree has been enabled. * Speed of Asuryan: The tooltip for this effect now classifies it as Offensive. 'Amenadresh' * This Hero's Mastery Tree has been enabled. 'Bax' * Removed Bax's base run speed bonus. Bax now has normal base run speed. * I'm Da Toughest: Now increases healing from I'm Da Biggest by 20% and no longer reduces damage. 'Conrad' * This Hero's Mastery Tree has been enabled. 'Durrig' * This Hero's Mastery Tree has been enabled. 'Gromki' * This Hero's Mastery Tree has been enabled. 'Ikkrik' * This Hero's Mastery Tree has been enabled. * Fixed a bug where the cooldown to Ikkrik's Infernal Bomb didn't reset after respawn. 'Ilanya' * This Hero's Mastery Tree has been enabled. * Increased Ilanya's damage. 'Korelei' * Focused Intensity: Now increases damage done and dodge chance, and no longer makes Korelei unable to dodge. 'Korith' * This Hero's Mastery Tree has been enabled. 'Nethys' * Consume Rapidly: No longer reduces Siphoned Blood's duration. * Seduction: Fixed a bug which could cause enemy hotbar icons to appear disabled even after this effect had ended. 'Thagison' * This Hero's Mastery Tree has been enabled. * Rage: The tooltip for this effect now classifies it as Defensive. 'Volrik' * This Hero's Mastery Tree has been enabled. * Rage: The tooltip for this effect now classifies it as Defensive. 'Zathis' * This Hero's Mastery Tree has been enabled. Scenarios General * Players now cease taking damage once a Scenario has ended. * All player-controlled creatures (such as Bombardment Turrets) are now removed when a Scenario ends. Arena *The Arena has been added back to the mix for Scenarios. Black Fire Pass * Fixed a bug which could occasionally cause carried Runes ''to disappear from the world. User Interface *Fixed a number of issues with the presentation of text, font, and images in various screens. *Tweaked the layout and look of the hotbar for ''Hero Abilities. *''Perks will be displayed next to your ability hotbar based on which slot the perk was equipped in your Inventory screen. *Since a Hero can conceivably equip three different perks, there are three ''Perk ''ability buttons that will display in game. *Each ''Perk ''ability button has a corresponding hotkey that can be assigned in the ''Key Bindings. These are not set by default for existing users. *The borders for Perk, Tactics, and Alternate Abilities have been updated. *Passive ability buff icons with stack counters will now display the counters in the upper-right corner of the buff. (ex. Clobberin') *Reskinned the main menu window to fit the style of the interface. Store *The Store is now open! Within the Store players will be able to purchase any Hero currently available in the Beta. This includes Free Heroes as those Heroes can be used in matches, but won't allow progression to be unlocked until they are Owned. Players will be able to also purchase alternate Skins ''for each Hero. All purchase are made currently with the earned currency, Gold. *The Store will show a player's current balance for Gold and Gems above the Store at any given time. *Gems are not currently usable. Any balance in this field is for internal testing only. *Once purchased, a Hero will shift to ''Owned ''status and be available at any time, regardless of whether that Hero is ''Free ''during this particular ''Beta. As well, it will enable use of their Mastery Tree and Masteries. *Along with access to purchase Heroes and Skins, the Store will offer users a list of items On Sale and a list of the Hot Items. *Note that the Hot Items section will be populated as purchases are tabulated so it will be initially empty during the Beta. *Finally, we've included a section to Redeem ''vouchers that can be used to unlock ownership of specific ''Items. This feature is not currently enabled, but look for a test of it later in the Beta. Lobby 'General' *The throttle for Radio ''commands has been tweaked to make them feel more responsive. *The Hero select window will show the alternate ability information in the ability descriptions when appropriate. *The icon for Gold, earned currency, has been changed in the profile. *In addition to the earned currency, there exists now an additional currency amount in the form of Gems. Gems are currently not used in the ''Beta ''and any values in this field are populated solely for internal testing at the moment. Reward Spinner *The spin reward window will now display a stack of Gold when the player wins Gold on a spin, rather than a chest. 'Heroes' *Profile page will properly display ''Ranks ''higher than 255. *The profile page will now show you which Heroes are ''Free, which Heroes are Owned, and which Heroes are not usable, but can be purchased. *Within a specific Hero's Detail Pages, the Hero graphic will be grayed out if that Hero cannot be used. *Within a specific Hero's Detail Pages, Free ''and ''Owned ''Heroes will be notated in the top left corner. *''Hero Synergies will now appear in the Hero's Detail Pages with any other passive bonuses that Hero may have. *Purchasing a ''Skin ''on the Store will unlock the alternate appearance on that Hero's profile page. Category:Patch Notes